Australia - Two girls, both 7, Ophir Reserve, NSW, 30 July 2016

A desperate search is underway for two seven-year-old girls who went missing during a family camping trip at a riverbank reserve near Orange in central western NSW.
The children had been climbing hills and were last seen on the opposite bank of a fast flowing creek at Ophir Reserve in Ophir about 4pm on Saturday.

Police said a family had set up camp earlier in the day at the site, and spent the day exploring nearby bushwalking tracks.

The two girls, who its believed are from different families, did not return to the campsite with them.

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Police, aided by the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service, started a search for the girls about 6pm but could not find them.

TWO seven-year-old girls who went missing from a campsite in the state&#8217;s central west yesterday afternoon have been found after spending a night outdoors in freezing temperatures.
A family had set up camp in Ophir Reserve, about 25km north of Orange, and had spent much of the day exploring bushland tracks in the area when they returned to the site about 4pm without the two girls.
The pair, who are not sisters, were last seen on the opposite bank of a fast flowing river.
It is believed one of the girls was a family friend who had joined them for the trip.

'THE seven-year-old girls who went missing in the state&#8217;s central west, enduring freezing conditions overnight, were startled by kangaroos, a family member has revealed.

Ron Pearson said his granddaughter Marley Aplin and her friend Rhianna were &#8220;doing OK&#8221; after the terrifying ordeal spent in bushland near Ophir Reserve, about 25km north of Orange.

Marley said the pair, which she dubbed the &#8220;nature queens&#8221;, became lost when they was startled by some kangaroos and lost sight of the bridge to cross back to where her family was.

&#8220;We were climbing up the mountain and we saw some kangaroos and we ran away from them and we went the wrong way and we got lost,&#8221; she said.

&#8220;Then we went up the mountain and we fell off the mountain. There was a log there to stop us going in the water.

&#8220;I hurt my hand, my hip and my face. Rihanna hurt the same thing because she fell down. I tried to save her and I fell on top of her. It was really steep, it was dark.

&#8220;We saw a tree and we made a pillow out of sand and leaves and we stayed there to sleep. We also put our jumpers over our knees. When we fell down the hill, my shoe fell off and my socks were really wet and then my other shoe fell off.

&#8220;We kinda got a bit of sleep but not much it was scary.&#8221;

In the morning the pair tried to get the attention of rescuers and could see the police helicopter looking for them.

&#8220;We saw the helicopter so we tried to say help to it. Then some people came and they found us,&#8221; she said.

&#8220;Thank you to all the people who were looking for me. It was Rhianna&#8217;s first time camping.

&#8220;Now because that happened we are not going to go hiking. That&#8217;s one of my worst fears I don&#8217;t want to go anywhere without my parents.&#8221;

Marley was treated at Orange Hospital before being discharged and was resting up at home while Rhianna will undergo surgery for an injury to her hip.

Mardi Aplin said the family was eternally grateful for those who searched for their daughter.

&#8220;On behalf of our and Rihanna&#8217;s family we will be forever grateful for everything they have done,&#8221; she said.

&#8220;The girls found their way over a massive rock, which we didn&#8217;t even think they would attempt, and that&#8217;s where they had this spill.

&#8220;I&#8217;m totally proud of her. It&#8217;s probably the worst 24 hours of your life but the few seconds when they said they were found was great.

&#8220;It&#8217;s something we&#8217;re going to get them to write in a little book and bring it back out at their 18th.&#8221;

Mr Pearson said it had been an incredibly worrying time for the family, but they were relieved the girls &#8212; who are best friends at school &#8212; had been found 11.30am today after last being sighted on Saturday at 4pm.

Mr Pearson revealed the girls had made &#8220;pillows&#8221; out of grass and leaves to sleep on during the cold night, in which temperatures plummeted to just 1 degree.

&#8220;They found them alive and well and everything was OK,&#8221; he said.

&#8220;They just wandered off. They lost all sense of direction.

&#8220;The girls just camped overnight apparently &#8212; Marley said they got some leaves and grass and made a pillow and went to sleep.&#8221;'